1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for making fluoridated and sterilized drinking water.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional apparatus 10 for making drinking water. The apparatus 10 includes a pre-treating filter 11 for removing large particles from the water, a pump 16 connected to an outlet of the pre-treating filter 11 for transporting the water to downstream thereof, an active carbon filter 12 connected to the pump 16 for removing colorants and for deodorizing the water, a fine filtration filter 13 connected to an outlet of the active carbon filter 12 for removing fine particles from the water, a reverse osmosis filter 14 connected to an outlet of the fine filtration filter 13 for removing ultra fine particles, heavy metals, and germs from the water so as to make the water drinkable, and a storage tank 15 connected to an outlet of the reverse osmosis filter 14 for storing the drinking water.
The aforesaid apparatus 10 is disadvantageous in that the apparatus 10 can not provide fluoridated drinking water. Moreover, since the active carbon in the active carbon filter 12 can react with oxygen in the water that passes therethrough, the oxygen level in the water is reduced considerably, thereby adversely affecting the quality of the drinking water. Furthermore, the quality of the water in the storage tank 15 tends to worsen when the apparatus 10 is inactive for a long period of time due to a rapid growth of germs in the storage tank 15.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for making fluoridated and sterilized drinking water that is capable of overcoming the aforementioned problems.
According to the present invention, an apparatus for making fluoridated and sterilized drinking water comprises: a housing; a filter assembly mounted inside the housing and having a downstream end; a water storage tank mounted inside the housing and including an inlet connected to and in fluid communication with the downstream end of the filter assembly, and an outlet; a circulating unit disposed inside the housing and having a first end connected to and in fluid communication with the outlet of the water storage tank, and a second end connected to and in fluid communication with the water storage tank for returning water to the water storage tank; a UV sterilizing unit connected to the circulating unit between the first and second ends and adapted to sterilize the water flowing through the circulating unit; a fluoridating unit connected to the circulating unit between the first and second ends and adapted to add fluorine to the water flowing through the circulating unit; and a water supply part connected to the circulating unit between the first and second ends and downstream of the UV sterilizing unit and the fluoridating unit and adapted to supply the sterilized and fluoridated drinking water.